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 to steal a march on us. Look here, I 'll agree to give you a third of anything we may find."

"Nothing doing," replied Flagg without a moment's hesitation. He was perfectly aware that he held the trump card in his hand, and moreover he was not in the mood to accept anything less than the lot.

"Now be reasonable," Tempest urged. "We may have an awful lot of trouble before we get it, anyway, even if we ever do get it, and so we might just as well be friends instead of enemies. Because you don't think we 're going to slip away quietly and leave you in possession of the field, do you?"

"I neither know nor care. Clear out." "But I told you we were not going to clear out."

"That's up to you," said Flagg in level tones. "I'm tired of this. If you like getting shot that's your own affair."

Without further warning he pulled the trigger